Recipe: Mavrodaphne Barbeque Sauce

I have to confess that I am particularly enchanted by a wine that evokes for me ancient evenings on the Aegean, gazing out over the dark sea and drinking wine nearly as dark.

Sporadically available outside of Greece, Mavrodaphne is a rich, dark dessert wine, similar to a port. This romantic wine has a romantic story to match.

Supposedly, a German winemaker owned some vineyards in Greece, where the crop was primarily the Mavro variety of grapes. Almost against his will, he found himself falling in love with one of the grape pickers he employed, a beautiful Greek maiden named Daphne. Before he could make up his mind to tell her of his love, the girl sickened and died. Heartbroken, the vintner named his wine after the two things he most loved - the Mavro grapes, and the maiden Daphne.

I was once gifted with a case of Mavrodaphne, and in the face of this abundance I even began to use it in cooking. If you're lucky enough to obtain some, or if your habitation in Greece has cooking facilities, try this barbecue sauce. I've simplified the ingredients and provided alternatives to make it easy to reproduce - I carry soy sauce packets in my luggage, but not everyone does!

Mavrodaphne Barbecue Sauce

1 cup Mavrodaphne
3/4 cup sugar
Two tablespoons soy sauce or salt to taste
One teaspoon hot sauce or chopped hot peppers to taste.
Six cloves garlic, finely chopped, or 1 tablespoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
Two green onions, cut into small pieces, or three tablespoons chopped onion.

Place the mavrodaphne in a small pot and add the sugar while stirring over a low heat. When the sugar is dissolved, add the other ingredients. The end result is a fragrant, tasty sauce similar to that used for Chinese spareribs. It goes well with almost any meat, but is especially good with pork and lamb.

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